Most pickup trucks that are used by nonbusiness customers are equipped with tonneau covers which extend across the cargo box and conceal the interior of the cargo box when closed. Operators that use these vehicles for grocery or other shopping need to store purchased items in the cab of the pickup truck or in the cargo box.
Storing items in the cargo box may be problematic for a number of reasons. More specifically, shopping bags do not remain in the same place in the cargo box of a moving vehicle. Accordingly breakable and crushable items like eggs, bread, light bulbs as well as bottled drinks, condiments and food items are not safe to transport in the cargo box due to the potential for damage. It should further be appreciated that the cargo box is often dirty or muddy and an operator may not wish to expose the groceries or other items in the shopping bag to this dirty environment.
While storing groceries and shopping bags inside the vehicle may seem to be a simple solution, it is often inconvenient to do so when there are many passengers. Further, while many pickup trucks incorporate tool boxes which provide a smaller storage space potentially ideal for shopping bags, it should be appreciated that such boxes are expensive, very heavy and often do not provide the desired flexibility since they cannot be moved out of the way if the entire cargo box needs to be used by the operator.
This document relates to a new and improved tonneau cover incorporating an integrated storage compartment that is easily accessed through an open tailgate of the pickup truck and better addresses the need for storage space for shopping bags. This includes the ability to hold and protect breakable and crushable items from damage due to shifting during vehicle operation.